Aristotle's concept that the goal of life is happiness and it's to be achieved through reaching one's full potential

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Year 2008 Mapped Out in Books

It is perhaps fitting that the last book I finished reading in 2008 was Living by Fiction, by Annie Dillard and it’s even more fitting that I didn’t read Annie Dillard’s work until now.

The reading list for 2008 is long and varied. I didn’t have a plan for what I wanted to read this year and the titles are a mix of books that won awards or critical acclaim and books that were recommended to me by people I trust. Some were gifts, eleven of them were written by other bloggers, two were written by the man I voted for to be our next President and several are non-fiction titles I read to feed my interest in culture and politics.

The novels I read were a mixed bag and I enjoyed most of them. I firmly believe in the maxim that a writer needs to read as much, if not more than she writes. In 2007 and 2008 I spent a lot of time reading books that would give me a better idea what kind of novelist I want to be and I’ve finally developed a fair level of confidence that even though I can’t directly answer that question, I know where I’m headed.

The titles I’ve highlighted are the ones that I felt most strongly about and that left me with the rare thought that I'd love to have been able write them.

1. Forgetfulness, by Ward Just2. Josie and Jack, by Kelly Braffett3. Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, Illustrated by Joe Ciardiello4. Twinkle, Twinkle, by Kaori Ekuni5. On Love, by Alain de Botton6. Veronica, by Mary Gaitskill7. How Proust Can Change Your Life, by Alain de Botton8. The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here, by Felicia C. Sullivan9. I Killed Hemingway, by William McCranor Henderson10. Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh11. The Fourth Watcher, by Timothy Hallinan12. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee13. The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian14. Torch, by Cheryl Strayed15. The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall16. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, by Pierre Bayard17. Meyer, by Stephen Dixon18. The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith19. Nine: Adolescence, by Amy Hassinger20. Desperate Characters, by Paula Fox21. John Lennon & The Mercy Street Café, by William Hammett22. Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik23. The Empanada Brotherhood, by John Nichols24. How the Dead Dream, by Lydia Millet25. Now, Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.26. One Sister's Song, by Karen Degroot Carter27. The God File, by Frank Turner Hollon28. Head Case: How I Almost Lost My Mind Trying to Understand My Brain, by Dennis Cass29. America, America, by Ethan Canin30. The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield31. The Eleventh Draft, edited by Frank Conroy32. Time's Arrow, by Martin Amis33. Rose's Garden, by Carrie Brown34. The House on Fortune Street, by Margot Livesey35. Simon Says, by Kathryn Eastburn36. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger37. The Bright Forever, by Lee Martin38. Catching Genius, by Kristy Kiernan39. Inglorious, by Joanna Kavenna40. A Three Dog Life, by Abigail Thomas41. Migration Patterns, by Gary Schanbacher42. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen43. Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon44. How Fiction Works, by James Wood45. Hoffman's Hunger, Leon de Winter46. She Was, by Janis Hallowell47. Bad Behavior, by Mary Gaitskill48. Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill49. Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami50. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut51. Leaving Atlanta, by Tayari Jones52. Man in the Dark, by Paul Auster53. The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama54. One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson55. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski56. The Confessions of Max Tivoli, by Andrew Sean Greer57. Dreams from My Father, by Barack Obama58. Matrimony, by Joshua Henkin59. The Art of Travel, by Alain de Botton60. The Nine, by Jeffrey Toobin61. The Conscience of a Liberal, by Paul Krugman62. The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins63. Crazy for God, by Frank Schaeffer64. Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, by Richard Hofstadter65. The Fall of Rome, by Martha Southgate66. The Maytrees, by Annie Dillard67. Like Trees, Walking, by Ravi Howard68. On Beauty, by Zadie Smith69. God Knows: It's Not About Us, by Blayney Colmore70. Edinburgh, by Alexander Chee71. Songs for the Missing, by Stewart O'Nan72. Orange Mint and Honey, by Carleen Brice73. Living by Fiction, by Annie Dillard

I own many short story collections, but I rarely read one of them from cover to cover (I only read two short story collections in 2008). I do like to dip in and out of them, so I've decided to list the short stories as I read them. There is a new sidebar with the most recent:

The Babysitter, by Robert Coover

Going into 2009 my reading goals are quite focused. Although I will continue to cheer my fellow bloggers on and I'll support them by buying their books, I plan to be much more stingy with my reading time and my choices will be far more self-serving in order to advance my writing goals.

I have an entire bookcase loaded with books I've not yet read and I intend to work through it with a vengeance.

I plan to start 2009 out with one of the big mothers I've been saving (or putting off -- take your pick) because of length and difficulty, so if you've got a yen to read Swann's Way, Gravity's Rainbow, The Recognitionsor Infinite Jest anytime soon, drop me an email and we can give each other moral support.

How was your year in reading? Did you have a plan and if so, did you stick to it? If you're a writer, did you read any books you'd like to have written? What books did you most enjoy?

Note: My first post inadvertently left off Orange Mint and Honey, by Carleen Brice. I don't recall when I actually read the book, but I was honored to have the chance to read an advance reader copy and I was so thrilled that I kept it a secret -- and consequently neglected to list the book on my sidebar or the first run of this list.

Lisa, your reading list always astounds me. I tend towards nonfiction--I think David Halberstam's final book, "The Coldest Winter," on the Korean War, was at the top of my list. Garry Wills's "Head and Heart," and two books by Karen Armstrong--one on the Axial Age, and the other called, I think, "A History of God," were excellent. I've never read anything by Robert Coover. Check this out to see one reason why:

Once again, great minds think alike. ;-) I've been thinking about my "year in books" blog post all day, only I think I'll wait 'til tomorrow because I still have 15 pages to go on the last book. Ha. I think my list might be longer, but you are miles and miles ahead of me on subject matter. Congratulations on such an amazing year of reading!

Felicia, I have delighted in following your incredible journey this year. Much love and success to you in 2009.

Moonrat, Well yes -- you gave it such a glowing review that I "one-clicked" it and read it the same week. Your recommendations haven't steered me wrong yet. I may very well have to email you my thoughts...it was very, very good.

Charles, I'm usually a very serial reader, but I finally gave up on the idea of reading entire collections -- I was missing out on too much good stuff. You should have tipped me about this sooner!

Patti, And a very happy 2009 to you and yours.

Steve, The list this year kind of shocked me too. I've got some tougher reads lined up for 2009 so I won't have a line up like this next year I don't think. I'll have to check some of your titles out -- they sound like they may be my kind of thing too.

I re-read the Coover post and remembered it right away -- blech! I can't blame you there, and now I'll have to wash the image out of my head before I go on to read more of him!

Patti, I just hope the movie adaptation does the book justice. It had such an impact on me that I spent a lot of time on line reading about South Africa in the post-Apartheid era. We (Americans) sort of lost interest in what happened once things began to change and I really had no idea things have been so difficult for so many and continue to be so.

Carleen, Yikes! I've added it now. When I first read Orange Mint and Honey, it was the ARC you were nice enough to let me read. It was the first ARC I'd ever seen and at the time, I was paranoid about it -- I wasn't sure I was allowed to even reveal that I'd read a book before it had been published and I was afraid to list it on the sidebar. Over time, I plain forgot to add it - it's there now!

Julie, I can't wait to see what you were reading all year. Happy New Year!

My goal for the year was to read fewer, but larger, books, of which I have many on my shelves and usually enjoy once I get over the intimidation factor. I did read fewer books, but primarily from lack of time not from greater ambition. I read more short romance novels than I'd care to admit. I haven't set reading goals for this year other than to make a dent in my growing TBR pile.

Subscribe Now: Feed Icon

Literary Quote

It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.